NONE
Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.
NOT APPLICABLE
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the preparation of a popped corn snack food popularly referred to as xe2x80x9ckettle cornxe2x80x9d, in general, and to the commercial vending of kettle corn, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
My two U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,857,403 and 6,032,572 describe a kettle corn popping structure especially useful by kettle corn vendors at such outdoor events as pioneer festivals, community commemorative events, fairs, markets, exhibitions of antiquated crafts and varieties of outdoor sports events. The corn popping apparatus there described structurally included a large popping kettle, a kettle support cabinet and a popped corn receiving-holding receptacle operable to permit the commercial vendor to prepare the popped corn, to dump the contents of its kettle into a suitable receptacle disposed outside the cabinet, and to be able to move the cabinet from one popping site to another with a substantial degree of mobility for such a relatively heavy structural combination. An improved process was also set forth to allow for producing and vending large quantities of the freshly prepared popped corn, while reducing to a minimum the hazards and discomforts which previously attended the preparation of popped corn over an open flame. The structure set out enabled the preparer to tilt the popping kettle for dumping its contents very quickly and with very little physical effort, in a manner which was practical and efficient in its use and operation, while at the same time being of a simple yet rugged construction, which could be manufactured at reasonably low cost. With the attendant savings being thus able to be passed on to a purchasing consumer, there typically began being formed long lines of the buying public to purchase the popped kettle corn at these outdoor events.
As will be understood, the kettle corn popping structuresxe2x80x94as well as others commonly employed at such outdoor locationsxe2x80x94typically operate from such fuels as pressurized propane, gasoline or kerosene. When utilized at indoor events, however, conversion to employ natural gas is needed instead. Because a minimum of 9-10 pounds psi is required to allow such poppers to then work efficiently, and because the poppers burn oxygen at a very high rate, the operation indoors becomes somewhat dangerous.
As will become clear from the following description, an improved kettle corn popping structure operates by using an electric heating unit for the corn to pop. With the popping temperature for kettle corn being typically of the order of 460xc2x0 F., the electric heating unit of the invention will be understood to operate from a 220 v line, in heating the oil into which the kettle corn is added, usually in amounts of 4 pounds at a time.
As will become clear, a corn popping apparatus according to the invention includes a box-like enclosure having upright front, back and side walls, a lid panel for an open top of the enclosure that is tiltable about a top edge of the front wall, and a corn popping kettle that is tiltable with the lid over and beyond the top edge of the front wall in dumping the popped corn therefrom; additionally, and in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the heat source includes an electrically energized resistance unit which is continuous along an underside of the corn popping kettle, and which projects into the enclosure when the lid panel closes the open top of the enclosure. With the electrical resistance unit being secured about the underside of the corn popping kettlexe2x80x94selected of a shape of an elongated spherexe2x80x94, the electric resistance unit is secured by a heat conducting plate of substantially circular cross-section. With the corn popping kettle then fabricated of a malleable metal and with the heat conducting plate fabricated of stainless steel, for example, the electrical resistance unit becomes capable of heating the underside of the corn popping kettle substantially to this 460xc2x0 F. temperature. A plurality of brackets will be seen to mechanically connect the heat conducting plate to the underside of the kettle in this arrangement in affording a high degree of protection to the operatorxe2x80x94while an on-off switch is built in as a further protective device at an underside of the lid panel in automatically de-energizing the heat source once the lid panel is rotated to open the top of the box-like enclosure.
As with the configurations of my earlier patents, the electrically controlled corn popper apparatus of this invention further includes a receptacle detachably mounted in alignment with the corn popping kettle to receive the popped corn produced, for distribution to the consumers on line. As will be readily understood, such distribution could be directly from this receiving receptacle itself, or, alternatively, could be from a separate hopper into which the popped kettle corn is dumped.